Spatiotemporal Analysis of Vegetation Dynamics in Tanout, Zinder Region, Niger
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55779/ng62603Keywords:
desertification, land use land cover, NDVI, remote sensing, Tanout, vegetation dynamicsAbstract
In arid and semi-arid regions such as Tanout (Niger Republic), vegetation dynamics play a critical role in maintaining ecological stability, biodiversity, and livelihoods. Healthy vegetation cover also contributes to climate change mitigation by regulating temperature and influencing local precipitation patterns. However, vegetation in Tanout, Zinder region is under increasing pressure from both natural and anthropogenic factors, leading to a decline in ecosystem services. This study investigates the spatio-temporal variability of vegetation cover and land degradation in Tanout over a 10-year period (2014, 2019, and 2024) using remote sensing techniques. Landsat 8 imagery was used to derive the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and classify land use and land cover (LULC). Environmental variables, including precipitation, elevation, land surface temperature, slope, and soil moisture, were integrated to assess the drivers of vegetation change. Despite increased rainfall and soil moisture over the study period, results indicate a continued expansion of bare land from 99.13% to 99.50%, while vegetation cover declined to 0.46%, representing approximately half of its 2014 extent. Although NDVI values showed slight recovery by 2024, they remained low, indicating persistent vegetation stress. The Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) model demonstrated improved explanatory performance over time, with R² increasing from 51.57% in 2014 to 58.66% in 2024, reflecting a moderate relationship between vegetation dynamics and environmental factors. The simultaneous increase in rainfall, expansion of bare land, and decline in vegetation cover highlight ongoing desertification processes driven by anthropogenic pressures such as overgrazing and land conversion, compounded by climatic variability. Future research should focus on quantifying the contribution of human activities, including livestock grazing intensity, fuelwood extraction, agricultural practices, and population dynamics, to land degradation.
Metrics
References
Adenle A, Speranza CI (2020). Social-ecological archetypes of land degradation in the Nigerian Guinea savannah: insights for sustainable land management. Remote Sensing, 13(1): 32. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13010032
Almouctar MAS, Wu Y, Zhao F, Dossou JF (2021). Soil erosion assessment using the RUSLE model and geospatial techniques in south-central Niger (Maradi Region). Water, 13(24): 3511. https://doi.org/10.3390/w13243511
Almouctar MAS, Wu Y, Zhao F, Qin C (2024). Drought analysis using normalized difference vegetation index and land surface temperature over Niamey region, southwestern Niger between 2013 and 2019. Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies, 52: 101689. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrh.2024.101689
An M, Wei CC, Han Y, Qu Z, Wang X, Zhang B (2024). Soil erosion and nutrient loss due to changes in rainfall intensity under different wind directions. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 49(1): 291–303. https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.5674
Anderson JR, Hardy EE, Roach JT, Witmer RE (1976). A land use and land cover classification system for use with remote sensor data. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 964. https://doi.org/10.3133/pp964
Attarik N, Pamoengkas P, Rachmat HH (2021). The effect of slope aspect on growth attributes of Shorea leprosula Miq. in a rehabilitated hilly landscape. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 914(1): 012018. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/914/1/012018
Balima LH, Nacoulma BMI, Bayen P, Kouamé FN, Thiombiano A (2020). Agricultural land use reduces plant biodiversity and carbon storage in tropical West African savanna ecosystems: implications for sustainability. Global Ecology and Conservation, 21: e00875. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2019.e00875
Barnieh BA, Jia L, Menenti M, Zhou J, Zeng Y (2020). Mapping land use land cover transitions at different spatiotemporal scales in West Africa. Sustainability, 12(20): 8565. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12208565
Beck HE, Zimmermann NE, McVicar TR, Vergopolan N, Berg A, Wood EF (2018). Present and future Köppen–Geiger climate classification maps at 1-km resolution. Scientific Data, 5: 180214. https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2018.214
Chomba S, Sinclair F, Savadogo P, Bourne M, Lohbeck M (2020). Opportunities and constraints for using farmer managed natural regeneration for land restoration in sub-Saharan Africa. Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, 3: 571679. https://doi.org/10.3389/ffgc.2020.571679
Coulibaly TY, Managi S (2025). Valuing the Great Green Wall economic benefits with the inclusive wealth index approach. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 12(1): 935. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-05221-z
Dai H, Wang H (2021). Influence of rainfall events on soil moisture in a typical steppe of Xilingol. Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, 121: 102964. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pce.2020.102964
Deng A, Hao X, Qu JJ (2024). A preliminary assessment of land restoration progress in the Great Green Wall initiative region using satellite remote sensing measurements. Remote Sensing, 16(23): 4461. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs16234461
Descroix L, Luxereau A, Lambert LA, Ruë O, Diedhiou A, Diongue-Niang A, et al. (2024). An interdisciplinary approach to understand the resilience of agrosystems in the Sahel and West Africa. Sustainability, 16(13): 5555. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16135555
Fiorillo E, Crisci A, Issa H, Maracchi G, Morabito M, Tarchiani V (2018). Recent changes of floods and related impacts in Niger based on the ANADIA Niger flood database. Climate, 6(3): 59. https://doi.org/10.3390/cli6030059
Gong J, Ma Z, Hu C, He L, Lei J (2024). Study on the constraint effect of vegetation on ecosystem services in the Yellow River Basin. Forests, 15(10): 1771. https://doi.org/10.3390/f15101771
Kuang Y, Chen X (2025). Spatial heterogeneity of forest carbon stocks in the Xiangjiang River Basin urban agglomeration: analysis and assessment based on the multiscale geographically weighted regression (MGWR) model. Frontiers in Environmental Science, 13: 1573438. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2025.1573438
Mechiche-Alami A, Abdi AM (2020). Agricultural productivity in relation to climate and cropland management in West Africa. Scientific Reports, 10: 3393. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-59943-y
Moussa B, Nkonya E, Meyer S, Kato E, Johnson T, Hawkins J (2016). Economics of land degradation and improvement in Niger. In: Nkonya E, Mirzabaev A, von Braun J (Eds.), Economics of Land Degradation and Improvement. Springer, pp. 499–539. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-19168-3_17
Ndehedehe CE, Ferreira VG, Agutu NO (2019). Hydrological controls on surface vegetation dynamics over West and Central Africa. Ecological Indicators, 103: 494–508. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2019.04.032
Nedd R, Light K, Owens M, James N, Johnson E, Anandhi A (2021). A synthesis of land use/land cover studies: definitions, classification systems, meta-studies, challenges and knowledge gaps on a global landscape. Land, 10(9): 994. https://doi.org/10.3390/land10090994
Olmos-Trujillo E, González-Trinidad J, Júnez-Ferreira H, Pacheco-Guerrero A, Bautista-Capetillo C, Avila-Sandoval C, Galván-Tejada E (2020). Spatio-temporal response of vegetation indices to rainfall and temperature in a semiarid region. Sustainability, 12(5): 1939. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12051939
Reddy GPO, Kumar N, Sahu N, Srivastava R, Singh SK, Naidu LGK, Chary GR, Biradar CM, Gumma MK, Reddy BS, Kumar JN (2020). Assessment of spatio-temporal vegetation dynamics in tropical arid ecosystem of India using MODIS time-series vegetation indices. Arabian Journal of Geosciences, 13(15): 704. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-020-05611-4
Sadda AS, Loireau M, Jangorzo NS, Issoufou HBA, Chotte JL (2023). Standardized description of degraded land reclamation actions and mapping of actors’ roles: a key step for action in combatting desertification (Niger). Land, 12(5): 1064. https://doi.org/10.3390/land12051064
Seydou KD, Morenikeji W, Diouf A, Dicko K, Erdanaev E, Loewner R, Okhimamhe AA (2024). Dynamics of Zinder’s urban landscape: implications for sustainable land use management and environmental conservation. Sustainability, 16(23): 10263. https://doi.org/10.3390/su162310263
Sidi Almouctar MA, Wu Y, Kumar A, Zhao F, Mambu KJ, Sadek M (2020). Spatiotemporal analysis of vegetation cover changes around surface water based on NDVI: a case study in Korama basin, Southern Zinder, Niger. Applied Water Science, 11(1): 4. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13201-020-01332-x
Sina AKS, Ali N, Garba A, Minoungou B (2021). Vegetation dynamics in the northern zones of Niger: case of the rural commune of Tanout (Zinder) and Aderbissinat (Agadez). European Journal of Environment and Earth Sciences, 2(1): 30–36. https://doi.org/10.24018/ejgeo.2021.2.1.111
Singbo A, Quarshies J, Bonou A, Lokossou J, Fatondji D, Dandedjrohoun L (2023). Improving women’s purchasing power through land-enhancing technologies. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 6: 1052987. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2022.1052987
Su Y, Zhang J, Peng S, Ding Y (2022). Simulating ecological functions of vegetation using a dynamic vegetation model. Forests, 13(9): 1464. https://doi.org/10.3390/f13091464
Tai X, Epstein HE, Li B (2020). Elevation and climate effects on vegetation greenness in an arid mountain-basin system of central Asia. Remote Sensing, 12(10): 1665. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12101665
Turner MD, Davis DK, Yeh ET, Hiernaux P, Loizeaux ER, Fornof EM, Rice AM, Suiter AK (2023). Great green walls: hype, myth, and science. Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 48(1): 263–287. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-environ-112321-111102
Umar A, Danjuma MN (2022). Examining the state of pastoral resources under common property regime, and pastoralists accessibility in drylands of Niger and Nigeria. Indonesian Journal of Earth Sciences, 2(2): 177–191. https://doi.org/10.52562/injoes.v2i2.435
Wang F, Pan X, Gerlein-Safdi C, Cao X, Wang S, Gu L, Wang D, Lu Q (2020). Vegetation restoration in Northern China: A contrasted picture. Land Degradation and Development, 31(6): 669–676. https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.3314
Weather Spark (2025). Tanout climate, weather by month, average temperature (Niger). Available at: https://weatherspark.com/y/58613/Average-Weather-in-Tanout-Niger-Year-Round (Accessed 10 December 2025)
Wei X, Zhang W, Zhang Z, Huang H, Meng L (2023). Urban land use land cover classification based on GF-6 satellite imagery and multi-feature optimization. Geocarto International, 38(1): 2236579. https://doi.org/10.1080/10106049.2023.2236579
Wu Y, Jia G, Yu X, Rao H, Peng X, Wang Y, Wang Y, Wang X (2024). Response of soil nutrients and erodibility to slope aspect in the northern agro-pastoral ecotone, China. Soil, 10(1): 61–75. https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-10-61-2024
Yahaya II, Wang Y, Zhang Z, Inuwa AY, Zhao Y, You Y, et al. (2024). Assessing desertification vulnerability and mitigation strategies in northern Nigeria: A comprehensive approach. Heliyon, 10(11): e31167. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e31167
Zhi Y, Li X, Shen T, Metternicht G, Grainger A, Pan Y, Lu Q, Kabo-Bah AT (2025). Land productivity declines in the GGW while human contributions to restoration far outweighing degradation. Scientific Reports, 15(1): 34948. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-18963-2
Zhou Z, Ding Y, Shi H, Cai H, Fu Q, Liu S, Li T (2020). Analysis and prediction of vegetation dynamic changes in China. Ecological Indicators, 117: 106642. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2020.106642
Zhu AL, Ndiaye A, Dahm R, Mauclaire M, Boas I (2025). Africa’s great green mirage? Assessing the disconnect between global finance and local implementation in Africa’s Great Green Wall. Land Use Policy, 157: 107670. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2025.107670
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Aboubacar Alio Salao, Tarwase Tosin Youngu, Swafiyudeen Bawa, AbdulAzeez Onotu Aliyu
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Open Access, Copyright, and Licensing
All content published in Nova Geodesia is made immediately available on an open-access basis under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
Authors retain copyright in their published work. By submitting and publishing an article in the journal, the authors grant Nova Geodesia and its publisher, the Society of Land Measurements and Cadastre from Transylvania (SMTCT), a non-exclusive right to publish, distribute, reproduce, archive, preserve, and disseminate the article in all formats and media.
Under the CC BY 4.0 license, users may read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, link to, adapt, and otherwise reuse the published content for any lawful purpose, including commercial use, provided that appropriate credit is given to the authors and the original publication, a link to the license is provided, and any changes are indicated.
The full terms of the license are available at:
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Authors are responsible for obtaining permission to reproduce any third-party material that is not covered by the article’s CC BY 4.0 license.
No submission fee, article processing charge, publication fee, or other mandatory publication charge is imposed by the journal.
